Take for example, the displaying, for TV (television) viewers, of information (cast, outline, preview of next installment, and the like) of a television program (here sometimes referred to simply as a program) being viewed and information (news, weather forecast, traffic information and the like) beneficial to viewers though not directly associated with a program itself onto the screen.
In order to realize the above-mentioned function, commands for obtaining and launching a dedicated application program (hereafter sometimes referred to simply as an application program) may be transmitted beforehand to the TV receiver in link with the progress of the program. Actually, this function has already been realized in Japan and Europe, for example, by transmitting these commands and applications by use of a band for data broadcasting in a TV broadcast signal (refer to Patent Document 1 below for example).
On the other hand, in the U.S.A., the band for data broadcasting is not arranged in the TV broadcast signal and no alternative method has been established, so that the execution of an application in link with the progress of a program has not been realized.
It should be noted that, in the U.S.A., more families view programs via CATV and IPTV than those directly receiving and viewing programs through TV receivers. With CATV and IPTV, only video and audio may be extracted for delivery from TV broadcasting, so that, even if the band for data broadcasting is arranged in the TV broadcast signal in the U.S.A., the transmission of the data broadcast signal containing application-associated data up to viewers cannot be assured.